LeClair Survives Challenge by Bohn and Duke for 2017 PBA50 Player of the Year Honors

LeClair, the 2017 season’s only two-time winner, held off challenges by two of the PBA’s all-time greats – Norm Duke and Parker Bohn III – who took the PBA50 Player of the Year race into the stepladder finals of the DeHayes Insurance Group Championship presented by Pro Bowl West and Ebonite in Fort Wayne, Ind., the final PBA50 Tour event of the season.

LeClair spent nearly two decades competing regularly on the PBA Tour without a win but his lengthy career was finally rewarded when he won PBA50 Player of the Year honors on the strength of his wins in the Pasco County Florida Open and Johnny Petraglia BVL Open, and a runner-up finish in the Suncoast PBA Senior U.S. Open.

Heading into the DeHayes Insurance Group Championship, LeClair held a substantial lead in player of the year points but because of the PBA50’s point structure which awards points for both qualifying and final finishing position, Bohn and Duke still had a chance to catch LeClair. It was a tall order for the pair of hall of famers because one-or-the-other needed to win and qualify either first or second. If Bohn had won, LeClair would have to finish second to clinch POY. If Duke had won, LeClair would have had to finish third.

LeClair left the door open when he finished seventh in the tournament and 19th in qualifying. But in the end, Bohn finished fourth, losing to Duke in the second stepladder match, 224-217, and Duke’s chances were then dashed when he lost to fellow hall of famer Pete Weber in the title match, 279-255.

Ron Mohr of Las Vegas successfully defended his PBA60 Player of the Year crown, winning the PBA50 South Shore Open for his first win against the 50-and-older generation in five years as well as winning USBC’s Super Senior Classic for 60-and-older players. He had three other PBA50 top-five finishes during the season and a second in the PBA60 Killer ‘B’ Open.

The following are trademarks or service marks of Professional Bowlers Association, LLC and may be used only with permission of Professional Bowlers Association, LLC: Professional Bowlers Association, PBA, PBA Tour, the Viper, Shark, Scorpion, Chameleon, and Cheetah oil pattern logos, the bowler silhouette, World Series of Bowling, and all other logos, trademarks, and service names associated with the Professional Bowlers Association, LLC. No portion of the Website may be duplicated, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.